The Present Problem
by Eternal Love Song
Summary: Left to his own devices, Loki often found interesting things. (Featuring Angela, Loki and Thor's sister from the comics. Couldn't find a tag for her.)


The problem with Loki was that Thor could not leave him to his own devices too long. No matter where they went, no matter what he did, there was always the possibility, no the inevitability, that he would return to the ship with some sort of problem for Thor. His brother was a magnet for the type of trouble that Thor very much thought they should avoid and Thor had reluctantly come to accept that long ago.

It was only on occasion that Loki still found a way to surprise him with the type of trouble he brought back. Usually, there was a system in place to deal with Loki`s mischief, something that they had all formed over time. There were Valkyrie problems, things that souls be solved with a bottle to the head and a boot to the face (whether those things were for Loki or whatever unfortunate soul was caught up with Loki varied problem to problem), Bruce problems, which could be solved with medicine or reason (again, whether for Loki or another could not be guarenteed), and then there were Thor problems. Thor problems included things that Loki specifically chose to tangle Thor in, things that had long term consequences for the ship and the people of Asgard, or things that he failed to talk someone else into dealing with.

This particular Loki based Thor problem fell into the first category.

On this day, Loki surprised him two fold. First with his own appearance, which for the last couple trips he`d made on world had been that of his female form. Thor was not certain of why Loki chose to dawn this form, then again he was not certain about much from Loki, so the fact that Thor could never decipher his motives was no shock to him. The second surprise, the much bigger surprise, was that Loki returned to the ship with... a friend. A friend who looked very murderous and not very happy to be there, but Thor reluctantly, optimistically, labeled woman as a friend. She had long red hair, was wearing a scowl and matching armor, and stood close enough to Loki to imply familiarity.

Thor wanted to hide his exasperation with whatever his brother, sister for the moment, had brought to his attention, but he did not. "What is this now, Loki?"

Loki`s wide grin did nothing to put Thor at ease and he was sure that she knew that. "A present for us, dear brother." Loki`s voice was an alarming purr, almost sticky with its sweetness, and Thor felt a shiver go up his spine. There was nothing more frightening than Loki using that voice, pretending as if she would play innocent without actually hiding her too wide grin, too bright eyes, or obviously glee. No good had ever come from this voice and Thor was bracing for the worse already. Loki only grinned wider when Thor visibly tensed. The woman... The friend, did not change her hardened expression in the least. "Thor, this is Angela. Angela, this is Thor."

Angela looked at him with a critical eye, no smile and no greeting left her lips. Great, she was friendly. Just was Thor needed.

"Greetings, Angela." Thor attempted to smile and put some amount of friendliness into his voice. It was a good attempt. It did nothing to soften her demeanor.

"Angela is an assassin for the tenth realm," Loki explained. Thor tried very hard not react as if he had no idea what Loki was talking about. "She was on a mission from her home world to kill you."

Thor did not know enough words to properly curse his brother. He reached for Mjolnir, which he no longer had, and a string of every swear he could think of began in his mind.

"After talking with her, I explained that Odin was dead and Asgard destroyed, which mitigated her need to kill you." Loki was smiling that wide smile that looked only marginally less alarming on his female form. She was loving this. Thor really wanted to throttle her in this moment.

Thor`s smile was very strained now. "And why have you brought her here?"

"Now that there is no need to kill you, she has some free time on her hands. I invited her to accompany us on our journey."

Was it too late to kill his brother? Was it ever really too late to kill his brother? The other's would surely understand, right? Thor dragged a hand over his face in deep exasperation. "Pray tell, Loki, why would she want to do that?"

The woman, Angela, remained silent and grumpy. Thor wasn't sure why she was still here. She didn't seem very happy to be here at all. Loki was perhaps gleeful enough for the both of them. "She is here to be an ally, of course. Thanos has made many enemies. She is one of them."

That was... reasonable...

"Also, she is our sister."

"WHAT!"

"It seems she was stolen from Asgard when she was a baby, only recently came into knowledge about this, and was sent to destroy Odin and Asgard to prove her loyalty and release her people from a curse Odin placed on them long ago." Loki smiled. "That's not really all that important, though."

This time, Angela's glare shifted to Loki. "You dismiss my entire life with a single sentence," She growled.

"You'll get used to it." Loki assured her.

Angela's growl did not cease.

"Do not be so grouchy, dear sister." Loki pat her on the arm. Angela glared at the place where Loki touched her, but did not otherwise react. "It is not as if you have anything better to do. You cannot return home on your own, and even if you could, now that your people are no longer protected by Odin's barrier, Thanos will be a threat to them, as well."

"Yes, I am aware of my situation," She grumbled.

Thor was not certain what to do with this information. "Loki, may I speak with you? Privately." Thor insisted.

"One moment, dear sister." Loki gave her a bright, surprisingly friendly smile.

Angela crossed her arms and waved them off. She turned her head to the side, looking in the opposite direction to give a modern of privacy. That was considerate of her. Much more considerate than Thor was expecting.

Thor grabbed Loki's arm and pulled her off to the side. Loki didn't resist at all, smiling as brightly as she ever did. Thor felt his irritation increase by that act alone. "What do you think you are doing, Loki?" Thor hissed. "Have we not had enough trouble with unknown siblings in recent days?"

Loki crossed her arms as she gave him an exasperated look. It was surprisingly similar to Angela's look and Thor wasn't sure how he felt about that. "I, for one, have had enough of indulging Odin's lies. Now that I have the chance to approach and deal with one of his deceptions on my own terms, I would like to do so." Loki looked away for a moment, biting her lip. It was a character trait she only been in her female form, something that Thor always found curious. "There is a part of me that regrets what happened to Asgard, what happened to Hela... I do not wish to lose another sibling."

Thor was surprised to see such emotion from Loki. He'd never considered how she felt about Hela. Thor never even considered how he felt about Hela and they'd never talked about it. "Loki..."

"Anyway, Angela's people, the angels, are a matriarch. She will get along well with Valkryie and being female will afford me more respect with her." Loki looked Thor up and down with mild derision before smiling wryly. "Nothing to be done about you, though. I suppose you will have to work a little harder to gain our sister's favor."

It was always something with Loki. He supposed that this was a more agreeable trick than his usual fair, however. Thor smiled more sincerely this time. "Thank you for bringing her to me, Loki. You'll always be my favorite sibling, though."

Loki blushed slightly, refusing to face Thor. "I was not hunting for your gratitude," she huffed. Thor decided not to point out that that made the gesture more endearing rather than less. It was nice to know that Loki still did things out of kindness instead of always for a scheme. Thor placed his hand on the back of her neck affectionately as he passed her, moving back to Angela's side. The woman turned to face him again. Now that he was paying attention, She looked much more tense than he was expecting. Was she expecting that he would turn turn her away?

"It is nice to meet you, sister."

"We'll see if I can return the sentiment," She responded. "I may owe a debt of gratitude to my... sister... but that does not extend to you, hair of Odin."

"A debt to Loki?" Thor asked questioningly.

"As the older sibling, I believe that you would be Odin's heir." Loki said dismissively.

With a quick flick of her wrist she sent a dagger flying at Loki, who blocked it with a summoned blade of her own. "Again with the blades, sister? Did you not learn your lesson the first time?"

"I am starting to expect that there is something I am missing between you two," Thor said with a smile.

"Always brother."

Thor smiled. He reached out to place a hand on his new sister's shoulder. She tensed under his touch, another weapon sprang to her palm, but she didn't attack. It was like dealing with Loki all over again and that was entirely endearing. "Welcome aboard, sister."

Angela made herself visibly relax. "Thank you... brother." The blades disappeared from her hands. She looked to Loki. "Thank you, Loki."

"Of course." Loki answered. "As your favorite sibling, it is my duty to be adored by you both."

"I am sure to regret this association," Angela said with a groan and an eye roll.

At least things would not be boring.


End file.
